Adjustable cover



'Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STAT-ES- PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE COVER. y Harry SiSh-apiro,v Chicago, Ill. Application December 27, 1938, Serial No. 247,799

2 claims. wijzen-25) A'principal object'of the present invention is the provision of an' adjustable coverstructure particularly suited -for usevwith Vents and re- ,k cepta'cle lopenings of various kinds, particularly- 5 those provided with interior threading, such as vent pipes and the like.

Viewed-from another aspect, the adjustable cover structure ofthe present invention is ing- Mtended to replace the type of cover heretofore 11)'l threaded into a pipe or attaching member, with the object of making the standard cover applicable to different sizes of pipe, procuring a better and more reliable seal by doing away yWith n the threaded engagement ofthe cover'with the 125* support or body with which it isv used.

Another object is the provision of an adjustable cover structure including adjustable means for providing a double'seal which may be used with different sizes of pipe or opening.

"- Another Objectis the provision of an adjustable cover structure including an attaching'mem-y ber provided With detent means yieldinglyy engaging threading or analogous formations on the interior of the pipe, a cover member, and means f adjustably engageable with the attaching member for holding the cover member tightly in closing position.

A further object is the provision of an adjustable cover structure including an attaching'mem- 3(5) ber having divergently expansible arms arranged to expand into engagement with the yirlterivorly threaded portion of a piping, and one or more cover members secured in closing position on the pipe or' associated structure by means of a bolt passing through the same and adjustably threaded into the attaching member.

Other objects and novel aspects of the invention reside in the various details of construction, as Well as the mode of operation, of the parts of 40 the preferred embodiment described hereinafter in conjunction With the annexed drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective vieW of one form of closure in use;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a modified form of cover structure including a plurality of closure members; While Fig. 3 is a cross section to enlarged scale along line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The invention has a variety of applications and for purposes of illustration, two forms of cover structure are shown herein as used in connection with a Waste trap or clean-out for awaste line.

In the arrangement of Fig. 1 the body or member,'for which the adjustable cover provides a closure, is in the form of a clean-outpipe I (I having a peripheral edge portion Il set flush in av oor structure I2. This pipe is provided with internaljthreading I3 adjacent its mouth, '5' and in ordinary practice a coverplate, similar in construotion'to the coVerIlI, would be threaded flush against the floor into the pipe I0. The threaded engagement of the cover with the pipe is objectionable for the reason that the threading 10' on both the pipe and cover is susceptible to injury at times When the cover is being removed from or'v applied to the pipe, and moreover the threading on the piping frequently employed in such installations is susceptible to corrosion, 15K

rusting and the like, so that such an arrange ment is objectionable as a frequent source of trouble. Moreover, a variety of sizes of cover plate must necessarily be available for replacements in use with different sizes of pipe. 20.

The adjustable cover structure of the present invention overcomes these difficulties as will readily appear from the following description, the structure including an attaching means in the form of a sleeve I5 (see Fig. 2 also) of a length 25 somewhat less than the diameter of the smallest pipe with which the attaching means is to be used, there being a pair of detent fingers IS and I'I slidably mounted in opposite ends of the sleeve and eachprovided with a pointed nose portion 30' I6 and I1 respectively, suitable for engagement in the recessed or depressed areas between the threads I3.

The detent lfingers are urged outwardly of the sleeve by individual coil springs I8 (Fig. 3) dis- 35 posed Within the sleeve and each bearing at one of its extremities against the corresponding detent nger and at its opposite extremities against one of a pair of stop pins I9 extended through the sleeve on opposite sides of a transverse center 40 line through the same. Each of the detent lingers isprovided vvithv a releasing member in the form of a laterally projecting pin 20 extending through a corresponding elongated slot 2| in the sleeve so that each pin may move freely back and forth 45 with its corresponding detent nger, the pins being of a length suitable for engagement by the fingers of the hand so that the detents may be retractedinto the sleeve out of engagement With the pipe threading. 50

'I'he attaching means is first engaged with the pipe or other member I0 by retracting the detent means in the manner aforesaid and inserting the attaching means into the threaded end of the pipe to a suitable depth and thereafter releasing 55 the pins 2D so that the spring means I8 may urge the detent fingers I6 and I'I outwardly into engagement with the threading I3. The cover plate I4 is thereafter secured in position by an attaching element adjustably engaging the attaching means I5, such element in the present instance being a screw 22 passed through the cover plate and threaded into an opening situated centrally in the sleeve I5, the screw 22 being turned up to draw the cover tightly against the opening and being provided with suitable washer means 25 such as will be described in conjunction with the arrangement of Fig. 2.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 2, the clean-out pipe I0 has its peripheral edge I I disposed appreciably below the floor level I2. An attaching device I5 constructed substantially as described in conjunction with Fig. 1, is secured within the mouth of the pipe in the manner already described, and an attaching element or bolt 23 is passed through a first cover member 24 and threaded into the attaching member or sleeve, an adjusting nut 26 thereafter being turned against the first or inner cover plate to urge the latter and its washer 25 firmly against the rim of the pipe, thereby providing a first seal. Thereafter a second or outer cover plate 2'I is fitted into plate over the opening with its washer 28 flush against the floor, and an upper end portion of the bolt 23 projecting through a suitable opening 29 in the plate for engagement with a finish nut 30 which is drawn up tightly to provide the second seal in tandem with the rst.

It will be observed that one feature of adjustability resides inthe expansible detent means I-I'I which makes it possible for the attaching member I5 to supportably engage pipes of different diameter. Another feature of adjustability resides in the threaded or analogous engagement of the attaching members or bolts 22 and 23 with their respective mounting or attaching means whereby the cover plates may be secured in position regardless of the depth at which the attaching sleeves are positioned. It will be observed that the extremities of the detent fingers I6 and II are beveled to provide the thread-engaging formations or edges I6' and II', this beveling being directed so that engagement thereof with the rim portions of the pipe when the attaching or mounting sleeve is inserted will assist in camming the detent fingers into the sleeve to further facilitate insertion of the attaching or mounting sleeve in the pipe.

It will also be appreciated that the adjustable closure is applicable to any opening, whether in a pipe or some other body, in which the divergently expanding detent members I6 and II may become engaged to function analogously to their mounting in a pipe as illustrated herein.

The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized in other forms of construction, and the invention is not restricted to any of the specific details recited herein for purposes of illustration, but is to be broadly interpreted in accordance with the provisions of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, means for attaching a cover plate over a vent opening, said means including a sleeve member adapted to t into said opening and extend diametrically across the same, detent members movable into and out of the opposite ends of said sleeve member, spring means in said sleeve member urging said detent members outwardly thereof against the inner surface portions of said opening, each detent being provided with a releasing l member projecting transversely of the movement thereof toward the entrance to said opening through a slot in said sleeve elongated in the direction of movement of the detent members, each said detent member having a beveled nose portion for engagement with threading within said opening, and means for interconnecting said cover plate with said attaching means.

2. In a device of the class described, means for removably securing a cover plate in covering position on a vent pipe or the like, said means including a square sleeve adapted to fit diametrically into said pipe, detent members of square cross section slidable into and out of opposite ends of said sleeve and each having a beveled outer nose portion adapted to be urged into holding engagement with inner portions of said pipe, each detent being provided with a releasing pin extended transversely of the movement thereof through an elongated slot in the sleeve extending in the direction of movement of the detent, a compression spring for each detent and each said spring having one end bearing against the corresponding detent and an opposite end bearing against lateral pin means secured in opposite wall portions of said sleeve, said pin means for each spring being spaced on opposite sides of the center of said sleeve, and bolt means threaded into the center of said sleeve in the region between said pin means for attaching said cover plate to the sleeve.

' HARRY S. SHAPIRO. 

